Free Traitor by Julia Sykes

low and lustful.
    He gave me a sardonic smile. “As you command, ma’am.”
    He was mocking me, and god damn it if it didn’t make my clit pulse. My expression must have betrayed my reaction, because he looked at me with satisfaction.
    “Will I see you again tonight?” He asked.
    I struggled to keep the guilt from showing on my face. I was meeting with Clayton tonight to report on what I had learned from Sean. “I can’t. I have to work late to catch up on my cases,” I lied.
    He frowned, but nodded. “Tomorrow then?”
    I smiled up at him, unable to conceal my joy at the thought of seeing him again. “Of course,” I said. “I’ll text you when I’m off work.”
    He planted one last swift kiss on my forehead before leaving me. I stood there for a moment, regretting the loss of the heat of him. Then I shook myself. I was going to have to rush if I wanted to make it to work on time.
    The soreness between my legs as I washed myself in the shower was a bittersweet reminder of our passionate coupling the night before. I relished the memory even as my gut twisted at the thought of my betrayal.
    Keep to your task. If you do this, Ronan will never be able to hurt him again.
    But the thought did little to assuage the feeling of guilt that made my heart feel heavy in my chest.
    “Sean’s father has coerced him into being a member of the Westies. I know it,” I told Clayton firmly as I tried to ignore the camera in the debriefing room. I sincerely hoped that no one other than the FBI would ever see these tapes. If they were used as evidence in court and Sean learned that I had revealed his weakness when it came to his father, I knew that he would never forgive me.
    As though he will ever forgive you for spying on him, I thought dejectedly.
    Clayton eyed me, his professional Agent Vaughn persona back in place now that we were discussing official business. “Did he tell you that?” He asked skeptically. I decided that I preferred Clayton to Agent Vaughn.
    “No,” I replied. “But I can just tell.”
    I wished that Agent Vaughn would just take my word for it, that he wouldn’t press me to reveal why I made this assumption. But I had no such luck.
    “I can’t work with ‘I can just tell.’ That doesn’t constitute hard evidence,” he said reprovingly. “I need you to be honest with me, Dr. Ellers.”
    So we were back to Dr. Ellers again. It got my hackles up. I glared at him.
    “He showed up at my house last night,” I admitted, my tone clipped. “His jaw was bruised, and he admitted that his father had hit him.”
    “A fight doesn’t constitute coercion,” he said.
    “It wasn’t a fight,” I insisted, irritation coloring my tone. “Sean didn’t fight back. He just said ‘You don’t fight Ronan Reynolds,’ and he wouldn’t say anything else. He got angry with me when I spoke out against his father. He seemed to think that I would be putting myself in danger if anyone found out that I had.” I speared Agent Vaughn with a hard look. “Does that sound like Sean has a say in the matter? He’s intimidated by Ronan,” I bit my lip as I made the admission. Sean certainly wouldn’t appreciate my sharing that. But I had to. To protect him.
    Agent Vaughn considered me carefully. “That does sound suspicious,” he conceded. “But we’ll need more proof than that, I’m afraid.”
    My hands clenched to fists beneath the table. What more did he want?
    “And what about when he came to confront Sean when they were still holding me captive?” I demanded.
    Agent Vaughn cocked his head at me. “What happened then?”
    “After he left, Bradley seemed scared of the consequences for Sean standing up to Ronan to defend me. He asked Sean if he realized what his actions could cost both of them. I’m telling you, Ronan Reynolds has some power over them.”
    “So you think Bradley is being coerced too?” Agent Vaughn asked, his brows drawing together.
    “No,” I said firmly. “He’s a ruthless asshole.